Wang Zhaowen, spokesman for the Bank of China, told Xinhua on
Wednesday that news reports chronicling the bank's involvement in
the US mortgage crisis contained statement which were both
inaccurate and "inconsistent with the truth."
The relevant information would be contained in the bank's
first-half financial report to be released in mid-August, Wang
said, adding that any information from other sources would be
unreliable.
He said the bank would not divulge any essential information
about its dealings prior to the release of the report in line with
relevant laws and regulations.
The world market is currently aflutter over the domino effect of
the risky US mortgage-backed securities, as a couple of companies
and hedge funds offering such services to sub-prime lenders in the
United States saw the value of the assets underlying the bonds they
hold fell sharply in recent months.
An earlier AFP report stated that the bank had pumped several
billion US dollars into mortgage-backed securities and that it
would face millions of dollars in losses, citing Zhu Min, vice
president of the bank.
Other Chinese banks such as the Bank of Communications, the Bank
of Construction and the Industry and Commerce Bank of China are
also involved in US mortgage-backed securities but less so than
BOC.
(Xinhua News Agency August 9, 2007)
